The Boy with the Scar
by oreocreampie
Summary: High School fic, modern take on ATLA. Private school, open campus, AU fic. Katara is a junior in high school facing the problems all teenagers face. Things seems to brighten when she meets the new boy in town with the mysterious scar. She can't stop her attraction to his story, his life, his being. Zutara 3 with some Sukka, maybe Taang later on. K , for now.


In honor of Zutara week, i wrote something today because i felt inspired. If anyone likes it, drop a review or PM me to let me know :) i'll write more if the story gets traction. Else, i'll continue to work on the blue spirit (lok ff)

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Italicized words are what the characters say to themselves in their own head. Bold words are text messages.

"-e-" is just a break point/change of scene b/c ff keeps taking away my other ones.

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Chapter 1 – The Boy with the Scar

Katara:

_Stupid Sokka, how could he just leave without me?! He's such an idiot! I ride home with him every single day! Just because he wanted to bring some cheerleader home, he forgets to take me home? I'm his sister for crying out loud!_

Katara was fuming across the campus grounds. Sokka drove himself and Katara to and from school everyday since he got his license the year before. What pissed off Katara was that her brother forgot to bring her home too when he finally got the school's head cheerleader to agree to let him drive her home. Katara whipped out her phone and began texting her brother furiously.

**Sokka, did you forget anything at school? In case you can't remember, it's ME! You forgot to take me home! How could you? Get here ASAP and call me when you're here. If you get here fast enough, I won't tell gran gran or dad about her.**

Now Katara was left at school, waiting for her brother to return from home to pick her up. She decided to calm herself by walking to her favorite location.

One of Katara's favorite things about Elements High was her school's campus. Because it was a private school, they had enough money to maintain the tranquil settings that graced the school grounds. The facilities were well-kept, equipment was renewed constantly, and the students and faculty members typically were well-behaved. Her school had all the basics: a pool, basketball courts, and several outdoor courts and sports fields, nature trails, gardens, etc. Her school had anything a high school student could every want or need. Katara's absolute favorite, however, was the small meadow on the east side of the main building. It was nature's garden, peppered with wild flowers and rooted by a few trees. All of which surrounded a small pond where ducks, turtles, and small fish dwelled upon. The meadow had a warm feeling to it during the start of the school year, and a refreshing feeling at the end of the school year. Katara felt that it was the best spot on the entire campus ever since she discovered it her sophomore year.

Katara decided to head for her spot to cool down when she spotted an intruder sitting under her tree, watching the ducks swim by. When Katara usually saw someone at the meadow, she bailed. This normally wasn't a problem since only a few students actually knew about the meadow. But this time, Katara really wanted to be there. The meadow was her spot where she could think privately and find a sense of serenity.

It was the beginning of the year, and Katara's first day as a junior didn't go well. Her ex boyfriend, Jet, was a charming, charismatic guy. He had great ideas, but never had a problem about how to get to those ideas. He was a big picture kind of guy, and so he didn't really care how something was done, as long as it got done. When Jet cheated on Katara their sophomore year, she was through with him. Unfortunately for her, Jet wasn't. Jet chose the first day of school to make Katara feel like a complete fool. He attempted to win her back, but Katara rejected him, making her seem like a heartless and snotty in front of everyone as he begged her. People who didn't know of their past, which was almost everyone, saw only a boy putting himself out there only to be harshly rejected. This put a small wedge in a few of her friendships. Her friends Longshot and Smellerbee immediately sided with Jet, making Katara feel ashamed at her behavior. Cutting her losses short, Katara finished up the day keeping to herself, only to find that she couldn't immediately go home, but was stuck at the school she so desperately wanted to escape from.

Rather than forfeit her sanctuary, she decided that no matter who was in her spot, she was going to find a sense of calm with or without an audience. Katara made her way to the meadows and upon closer inspection, saw that the person now had his eyes closed, or at least eye, because Katara could only see his right profile. He seemed relaxed. His hair fell over his eye just a tiny bit, his body curved in-line with the tree's base. He seemed completely calm, lost in the peace Katara was so badly was seeking. His school uniform sleeves were rolled up and his tie was draped loosely around his neck. As Katara got closer, she could see how handsome the boy was. His dark hair contrasted pleasantly with his pale skin. He looked so peaceful, Katara would feel guilty if she disturbed him for her spot.

With a heavy sigh, Katara turned around and decided to leave the boy to himself. _Maybe he needed this spot more than I did. There are always the gardens I can go relax in._ _I'll ju-_

"Excuse me." Came a voice from behind, interrupting her thoughts. Katara turned back around and stopped, her greeting stuck at the back of her throat when she saw.

The boy had gotten up and was now only a few feet away from Katara instead of 10. But that wasn't what caused Katara to stop short. There was an alarmingly rugged, red scar covering roughly a third of the boy's left side of his face. His eye, upper check, and part of his ear were all affected by the scar. Katara could only stare for the first second, then her mind raced with questions. _What happened to this guy? Can he see through that eye? Can he hear through that ear? Who are you?_

"Um, hey?" Asked the boy as he brushed his hair to cover some of this scar.

Katara snapped out of her stupor and tried to recover from her rude gaping. "uh, hi, sorry. I didn't mean to stare." _Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! You can't just stare like that, Katara. Think!_

"It's okay." He responded immediately, looking down at his shoes.

"No, really. I didn't mean to. I was just caught off guard of how close you were. I thought you were still sitting down by the tree." Katara lied smoothly.

Her shoulders relaxed a bit when she heard him chuckle. "Oh, my bad. I was, but I heard you and saw you walking away. Did you need something?"

"Oh, no. I was just…" Katara didn't know what to say. She was still trying to recover from her mistake. Today really wasn't her day. "I just wanted to just hang around here until my brother comes and picks me up."

The boy seemed to notice Katara's distress, and tried to be extra nice to her. "Oh? Well you can hang around here. There's plenty of room," he said as he gestured towards the meadow.

"That's very nice of you, but…" Katara trailed off. _What am I supposed to say? I just wanted some space to relax alone from this stupid day, but here I am, making more stupid mistakes._

"But, you want to be alone?" The boy guessed.

Katara was surprised at his perception and nodded slowly. "It's been a long day."

"And it's only the first day of school." The boy said, sounding that he actually agreed with Katara.

"I know, right? it's just… Nevermind. Sorry for bothering you, I'm going to go." Katara said as she began to turn away.

"No, wait!" The boy quickly said, stopping Katara short. "Uh, you can stay, I'll go. I was just about to leave anyway. School's been over for a bit now, I should probably head home."

"Are you sure? You don't have to…" Katara mumbled, biting her lip.

"I want to." The boy said, putting his hands in his pockets. "I'm Zuko by the way."

"Katara. And thank you. Zuko? How come I've never seen you around before? Are you new here?"

Zuko nodded. "Yup. I just transferred back here from Capital City."

"Back from Capital City? You used to live around here?"

"I was here up until the end of middle school. I spent three years at a different high school. This school is bigger than my last one."

"It's the private school for four different districts, so there are students from everywhere. So, you're a senior?

Zuko nodded.

"Oh, my brother is a senior. I'm a junior. At least you get first dibs on your classes. Seniors get first pick for almost everything."

"That's nice for a change. It was different at my old school."

Katara was running out of things to say that weren't about his scar. It was nothing Katara had ever seen before. The skin was enigmatic, alluring; and Katara found the texture strangely inviting. "How was your first day here at Elements High?"

"Oh, you know. The first day of school for a new kid. It was-" Zuko tried to say but was cut off by Katara's cell phone.

Katara pulled out her phone. "Hello? You're by the front? Okay, coming." Katara silently cursed her brother for his timing, but couldn't stall any longer since she heard him speaking. With a sigh, she brought her attention back to Zuko. "That was my brother. I have to go now."

"Ha, so much for hanging around this place." Zuko laughed.

"I'll be back. Will I be seeing you around?" Katara hoped he'd say yes.

Zuko cracked a smile and nodded once. "See you." And turned for the school doors.

-e-

"So, you're not going to tell gran gran or dad right?" Sokka asked as Katara climbed into the passenger seat.

"Depends, which cheerleader?"

"Suki!"

"Oh thank god. I was afraid you were going to say Ty-Lee, and then I definitely was going to tell. But now that it's Suki. My lips are sealed."

Sokka's smile stretched much too wide than what Katara was used to. "You- You are the best sister ever!"

"I know."

"So, best sister ever. How was the first day of school?"

"It started off okay, but then Jet showed up after lunch… that didn't go down too well. I don't think Longshot or Smellerbee what anything to do with my anymore."

"Jet's a jerk. And Longshot and Smellerbee can go to hell if they choose Jet over you after what he did to you last year."

"Ha, they don't see to think so. You think after you help people out like that they would give you more loyalty? Nope, they turn their backs on your just like that."

"Hey," Sokka gently said as he laid a hand on Katara's shoulder. "I'll never turn my back on you. Got that?"

Now it was Katara's turn to grin too wide. "Thank you, Sokka."

"No problem. So, anything at least somewhat… pleasant happen?"

Katara thought of the meadow—of how, for a moment in time, she saw a boy who was completely at peace, relaxing in nature's embrace. His shoulders relaxed, his worries temporarily gone; of how a boy managed to escape reality, even if it was only for a moment. And how suddenly, the calm boy turned into the mysterious stranger when Katara could see beyond his profile. The boy had a story, a story Katara wanted to know more about. Katara thought of the boy with the scar, and smiled to herself as she stared out the window of her brother's car.

"Hmm, as much as Jet ruined the day and you forgetting me," Katara stressed as she quickly narrowed her eyes at her brother. "something pleasant happened after all."

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That's the start of my new fic. If it gets positive feedback, i'll continue working on it, if not, well w/e. cut my losses now then later, right?

Happy Zutara Week :D


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